P.A.M. expands, extends stock buyout
P.A.M. Transportation Services Inc. will repurchase up to 150,000 shares of company stock between $59 and $63 per share, expanding a buyback program announced last month.
The Tontitown-based company amended last month's repurchase offer of 80,000 shares. The original buyback program was scheduled to end Monday, but it has been extended to July 9.
In addition, P.A.M. announced board chairman Matthew Moroun has the option of selling up to 1.2 million shares owned as part of a trust. No final decision has been made, according to the announcement, but Moroun and the Moroun Trust collectively own approximately 58 percent of the outstanding shares in the company's stock, according to P.A.M.
P.A.M previously announced in January it had repurchased 572,304 shares at $50 per share. The total repurchase was about $28.6 million. The company also paid out $13.4 million in 2014 to repurchase 640,000 shares at $21 each.
-- Robbie Neiswanger
Facebook stock value passes Wal-Mart
NEW YORK -- Facebook is now bigger than Wal-Mart, at least when it comes to its value on the stock market.
The world's biggest online social network knocked the world's largest retailer out of the top 10 list of the highest-valued companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index Monday, and the gap widened Tuesday.
While the switch is mostly symbolic -- nothing specific happened this week to warrant it, and the difference between the two giants is not that big -- it signals investors' appetite for successful tech stocks. Apple, Microsoft and Google top the list of the highest-valued companies in the U.S., and Facebook looks to be on its way to joining them.
A company's market value is calculated by multiplying the number of shares of stock it has in circulation by the current price of one share.
Facebook Inc. was valued at $246 billion in Tuesday afternoon trading, according to FactSet. The shares rose $3.14, or 3.7 percent, at $87.88.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was valued at $233 billion. Its shares dipped 22 cents to $72.57.
Facebook, which is based in Menlo Park, Calif., has been on a roll this past year, its shares up about 34 percent in the past year compared with just 8.2 percent for the S&P 500 index. Its quarterly results have consistently surpassed expectations.
Bentonville-based Wal-Mart asked for investor patience after its most-recent earnings report showed a 7 percent profit decline due to the effects of the strong dollar and higher worker wages and spending on its online operations.
-- The Associated Press
Strikers shut down rail tunnel in Europe
PARIS -- Eurostar on Tuesday canceled all passenger train service through the tunnel that links France and England, after striking ferry workers swarmed the train line, setting tires alight.
The rail company said all trains are returning to their cities of departure and none are stuck in the tunnel, which has been closed for all traffic until further notice.
The move followed a day of chaos in the French port city Calais that began before dawn. The strike by the ferry workers threw the tunnel into disarray, as truckers who diverted to the train line got caught in traffic and people hoping to reach England swarmed the vehicles, trying to sneak on board.
Video filmed near the entrance to the tunnel showed migrants racing to catch a slow-moving truck.
Late Tuesday afternoon, about 50 strikers made it onto the tracks by the freight terminal building, torching tires and closing service in both directions, tunnel operator Eurotunnel said.
The union is protesting feared job cuts. Meanwhile, thousands of migrants are camped in Calais, hoping to make it to England.
Eurostar carries about 10 million passengers a year among Britain, France and Belgium through the Channel Tunnel.
-- The Associated Press
Office raids follow Toyota exec's arrest
TOKYO -- Police raided Toyota Motor Corp.'s headquarters and its Tokyo and Nagoya offices Tuesday in connection with the arrest of a senior American executive on suspicion of drug law violations.
Toyota spokesman Ryo Sakai said the company could not comment on the raids because the investigation is ongoing.
Julie Hamp, 55, Toyota's newly appointed head of public relations and its highest female executive ever, was arrested June 18 on suspicion of importing oxycodone, a narcotic painkiller, into Japan. The drug is tightly controlled in Japan.
Police say the drugs were in a parcel Hamp mailed to herself. Japanese media reports said the drugs were hidden in a package containing jewelry.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda said Friday that he believes Hamp did not intend to break the law.
It is unclear what police were looking for in the raids, which are common after arrests.
Hamp was not available for comment. In Japan, suspects can be held in custody for up to 23 days without formal charges.
-- The Associated Press
Jeep Wrangler air bags under review
DETROIT -- U.S. safety regulators are investigating complaints that a wiring problem in Jeep Wrangler steering wheels could stop the air bags from inflating in a crash.
The investigation covers about 630,000 Wranglers from the 2007 through 2012 model years.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it has 221 complaints that the air bag warning light is illuminating, indicating an electrical problem in the steering wheel. Jeep-maker Fiat Chrysler recalled some right-hand-drive Wranglers in 2011 for the same problem. Now the agency is looking at left-hand-drive vehicles.
The agency reports no crashes or injuries because of the problem. The investigation could lead to another recall.
Fiat Chrysler said it is cooperating in the investigation. Owners whose air-bag lights come on should contact their dealer.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 06/24/2015